The World Bank (WB) says that the economy of Gaza is collapsing and has cited the well-known reasons that most, if not all, of them stem from the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip for the past ten years.

There is really nothing new in this latest report from the WB on the failing economic health of Gaza, but it comes in the wake of the new US policy to cut off all its customary annual economic aid to the territory to the tune of $50 million, as well as to US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to bring to a complete stop US financial contributions to UNRWA.

Yet, the economic and financial woes of Gaza go even further than that. The continuing political friction between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Hamas-led political structure in Gaza has added to the economic and financial hardships of Gazans even more.

The WB submitted its report on the alarming situation in Gaza to the UN in New York on the occasion of the convening of 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly with the hope that countries of goodwill and long-sighted statesmanship would step in and fill the void created by the US shortsighted policy on the Palestinian problem.

Yet, any such international intervention cannot compensate for the indispensable role of the Palestinian leaderships, both in the West Bank and Gaza, to put their house in order and bring to an end the deepening conflict between them, put the higher Palestinian national interest above all other considerations and strive more seriously for the unity of their ranks.

The Palestinian people and their leaderships cannot expect others to be more Palestinian than themselves as the primary responsibility is to put their house in order.

The Palestinian leaderships must get their acts together before they can expect others to step in and support the Palestinian cause, economically and politically.

SOURCE:

http://www.jordantimes.com/opinion/editorial/end-deepening-conflict